What would compel an American born singer-songwriter to travel into an active war zone in northern Israel and perform a concert inside a bomb shelter? The same motivation that drove Sonia and Disappear Fear’s Sonia Rutstein to learn Arabic and Hebrew for her new CD, “Tango,” released in September: ideology.
“To be where I was literally armed with an acoustic guitar and not a gun is a whole other level of commitment,” Rutstein said during a telephone interview from her latest engagement in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “It was an empowering experience, but very scary.”
Rutstein, who will perform at the Listening Room at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Knights of Pythias Hall, 106 N. Denver Ave., is an artist in every sense of the word. The Maryland-born singer-songwriter has recorded eight studio CDs, four concert CDs and two DVDs. Additionally, she paints, as is illustrated in the 24-page booklet included in “Tango.”
Well-traveled around the globe, she has performed at festival venues of all sizes in the United States, Israel, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Her hope is to include shows in Japan on her “Tango” tour.
“I just like what I am doing,” she said. “It’s almost like a whole other language. I know I’m not hugely famous right now, but I feel like I’m kind of concentrated on something that I have to keep going toward, and I don’t even know what that is. But I can do it and I’m connecting with people, and that’s really right on.”
On “Tango,” it was her desire to connect with her fans in the Middle East that prompted her to include songs written in Hebrew and Arabic. She believes it is important to communicate with others in their native tongue, and for reasons that go beyond the mere understanding of words.
“I’ve always liked the Latin stuff,” she said. “I like the language, and have written in it as an alternative to English throughout my professional career. It gives you more romantic options without sounding too far-fetched. In English, it sometimes sounds like lying. In Spanish, it sounds passionate.
“I really like to see the way languages fit together. I love the power of music and how that brings people together. I think the more that we see that as part of our existence, the greater chance we have for a more positive environment. Learning the songs in Hebrew and Arabic — particularly Arabic for me, being Jewish — is very important to me.”
Rutstein started Disappear Fear with her sister, Cindy Frank, in 1987. The pair worked together until 1994, when Frank decided to stop touring to raise a child. Continuing on as a solo act, Rutstein recorded her first solo CD in 1998.
On “Tango,” Rutstein re-visits a few tunes she recorded on earlier CDs and introduces new music in old tongues. Laced with a large dose of Latin flair, the acoustic-driven “Tango” is a polished and mostly up-tempo collection of songs that brings the artist and listener toe-to-toe in “a passionate dance between people,” she said.
“That’s how I see it,” she said. “It’s really my dance with the audience.” A dance that — even minus the violin, tin whistle, and other accents heard on the recording — plays out well in her stage performance, she said.
“If I’m on that night, have a good night’s sleep, get in a run, and am centered on the song, I don’t fear that anyone will walk away undernourished,” she said. And keeping the masses fed is no small part of Rutstein’s musical mission. For every song purchased online (http://www.soniadf. com/home.html), she donates 27 cents to the United Nations’ program to end world hunger. She points out that 19 cents feeds one child a meal in developing countries.
“The idea is to get people a nice meal and better education,” she said. “That combination will help lift them out of poverty. That’s what I want to be feeding.”